Heart of The Blade
by seraphz
Summary: A.U. my rendition of Foxsphere's Heart of the Blade from my story Thou Art Poet.


Heart of the Blade

By Seraphz

Chapter One

The Beginning

Uzumaki Naruto was a boy one who could be considered as extraordinary. First he was a bright child. Having spoken his first words barely at around the age of seven months he was definitely a bright child. Secondly he is very hyperactive baby; he managed to stand at a year old and was running around before the age of two. Thirdly he was very interested in ninjas.

But those were not the facts that mad the boy extraordinary. Having been born into the royal family of Fire country and being the Hokage's only son one would think that Naruto was a spoiled brat. He was fortunately the exact opposite, always cheerful and very active; he can surely lift anyone's spirits by his mere presence.

Now at Naruto's fourth birthday his parents decided that this year should be livelier for the young prince. That was why here he was now with his father's sensei and longtime friend, Jiraiya. Naruto had been spending the past half of the hour running away from the old man, his laughter however gave him away. Jiraiya for his part seemed to relax as Naruto continued running. He had originally thought that Naruto would more likely be tired after the first ten minutes. That was what he thought.

After a few minutes Jiraiya decided to chase the young lad. After a few minutes however he was laughing his head off at Naruto's antics while running away. Several minutes latter, along with a dozen insults and a few more retorts, Jiraiya fell to the ground. He had refused to use his ninja skills against Naruto during the chase and he had been rewarded with the satisfaction of a proud grandfather.

"Oji-san what is that?" asked Naruto as he looked over Jiraiya's shoulder to see what the old man had been doing since they sat down.

"This?" asked Jiraiya as he held up a book; it was his very first work, The Icha Icha Paradise Adventure. "This is the very first book that I've ever written."

"Huh?" said Naruto as he looked carefully at the covering. It was a picture of woman. Confused Naruto decided to ask what the book was about.

Laughing, and silently leering to himself, Jiraiya stated that the book was strictly for adults. Jokingly of course he knew that little children tend to follow what they saw adults do, whether they were right or wrong in their eyes it was always the right thing.

'Adults?' Naruto wondered as he stared blankly at the book. "Oji-san, may I take a look?" he asked along a cute puppy eyed look. Well he certainly had that charm to gain what he wanted. It wasn't that he was bossy and demanded what he wanted. Or neither was it that he cried and threw a temper tantrum to have his own way. He had his way that what he wanted, was either what he earned or what he had been given out of free will.

Raising an eyebrow Jiraiya said 'sure' while thinking that Naruto can't even read yet. Or so he thought. Laying back into the grass Jiraiya watched idly as the clouds passed above them.

"Oji-san what is this?" Naruto asked after a few minutes, showing the white-haired Sannin a picture of a nude woman. Jiraiya seeing that the boy had come across one of his hidden inspirations, knowing all too well of Hikaru-chan's attitude towards anything perverted, tried to grab away the picture. He'll probably end up dead or soon to be dead. Using speed born out of desperation he quickly snatched away the picture out of the boys grasp.

Jiraiya grabbed him and set him down unto his lap, while he lectured as his hands tickled the blonde bundle of energy.

"You little rascal!" Jiraiya preached "You don't just look into others things without asking."

Inside Jiraiya was thinking about the boy's future. He had been born into a very powerful family, the fire country's most hidden bloodline resides through his veins and even now skills inherited from his father were already showing. Arashi was aloof, confident, steadfast, powerful and brave. Hikaru was silent, gentle, elegant and caring. He was loud and she was quiet. He was an outgoing person and she was a shy person. So what would that kind of combination result to?

Jiraiya sighed if what happened earlier was any indication the boy surely would be much like his father and have a very soft side like his mother deep inside. Like the wind he realized. Totally unpredictable. Strong, raging and savage for a moment then would be soothing and gentle the next moment.

Strong and unbendable, but caring and soft.

Like a true grandfather to the energetic tyke, Jiraiya couldn't keep angry at the boy. Soon his tickling trickled into a stop until he was simply rumpling the boy's hair. Unbeknownst to him the boy was also thinking about his beloved, although very perverted, Oji-san.

"Oji-san…" Naruto started softly interrupting the old man's ponderings.

"Huh?"

"…you're a pervert." He finished along with a pout on his lips.

"Hey I'm one of the Three Legendary Sannins" Jiraiya retorted, his pride getting the better of him. Really no one else could push his buttons as much as the little blonde tyke.

"Sannin?" Naruto asked, at Jiraiya's nod he then shouted "Then that makes you Ero-sennin!"

After yelling Naruto quickly stood up and dashed of away from Jiraiya, who was staring dumbly at the blond-haired kid. And so it went on again. This time however it only ended when Naruto turned around the corner, only to be snatched up by his laughing father.

"Sensei! Hey! How come you can't catch a little kid?" Arashi said as he saw his beloved sensei leaning by the wall.

"Arashi have you started training him?" Jiraiya questioned his old student. Team Jiraiya had been the only team he had taught, only them and no one else. Although Tsunade would often call his team Team Pervy, though Arashi always butted in and said that Jiraiya was the only pervertd in the team. "He has the skill to fool young Gennins already, though he has to keep quiet while hiding that is."

Naruto pouted at this, it was a good idea to hide behind that statue of a samurai. Then he had seen Jiraiya and wondered how his Oji-san would react to a little samurai called Naruto, complete with a pair of katana a full body armor and carrying a flag with the sign 'Ichiraku RAMEN'. And then he couldn't hold it in and he burst out laughing.

"No, sensei but I think my little son's quite a prankster. Aren't you Naru-chan?" At this Naruto moved to grab his father's nose but that didn't sit well with Arashi, who nuzzled himself to his son's chubby stomach. "You should sleep now so you can stay awake tonight."

"Otuo-san…" whined the little blonde dynamite, it was clear to both adults present that Naruto still wanted to play. What he got for whining was a pinch from his father and a firm but gentle 'no'.

Both of them waved to Jiraiya, who waved merrily back, before bounding up the stairs towards their bedrooms. Arashi snickered as Naruto let out a wide yawn. Naruto fell asleep as they were bounding up the stairs. Really you won't see a toddler anywhere who can run for hours and not easily be sleepy afterwards.

-0-

Meanwhile a pair of pale lavender eyes groggily shot open. It was only a few hours past noon and the sun was already cool. Tonight would be the first time she would visit the Hokage's house. She had seen the Hokage as she saw him visited their home every now and then. But had never seen their house before.

And then she remembered. Tonight was the birthday of the Hokage's only son. She often wondered what he was like but she did know that he was around her age. She sat up on her bed and rubbed the sleep of her eyes. She glanced around her room and hoped that there was something that she might be able to give him for his birthday.

She sighed and hoped that she knew something about him.

-0-

Later that day Naruto was woken up from his sleep by his mother. Green-eyed, silky black haired Hikaru smiled sweetly at her four-year old son. She was a gorgeous, as a princess should always be. A voluptuous and slender body, smooth and silkily soft skin, a picture perfect body that any girl would dream to have. Or kill for that matter.

"Wake up, my dear sweetie. They're here already?" she said to him, smiling sweetly as ever.

"Who came Okaa-san?" Naruto said as he sat up from his bed, his frog nightcap falling unto his face. Hikaru giggled as her son brushed the sleep off his eyes while he failed to stifle a yawn.

"Well, Sarutobi said that he'll be coming in later. Then there's little Ayame…" hearing the name 'Ayame' Naruto began dancing while saying things like 'yame-nee came' over and over again. Hikaru giggled again her son was too cute for his own good. "… then there's her father, Teuchi-san"

If Naruto was dancing at Ayame's name he was quite still hearing the older Ichiraku's name. Surely enough basing from his previous reaction he would be bouncing and dancing around like a native tribesman. Hikaru, curious at the strange reaction, stared at her son, only to sweat drop afterwards as she saw his reaction.

Naruto's mouth was hanging loose, with a little of saliva dripping down, and his eyes wistful for that delicious meal. And calling out.

"Rameeeeeeeeeeeennnn…." Hikaru doubted whether or not he would have heard or remembered the next guests she mentioned. She sighed even during bathing, and long after, Naruto's mind was solely focused on Ramen. Delicious, mouth-watering ramen. She was glad however that he momentarily forgotten about the said dish when he wore that brand-new kimono that she had made for him.

It was orange and had a few lines of blue here and there, along with bowls of ramen embroidered in silver. The design and quality were fit for royalty.

"Thank you, Okaa-san!" he said then hugged his mother tightly. Then he stood up and strutted around for his mother.

-0-

Hinata had been walking around for a while now, and she still hadn't let her grip of her father's hand ease. One would surely understand the moment they saw her. Her posture and mannerism were certain signs of a very timid nature. Her mother would have been here but she needed to stay home because of the baby she was carrying.

The place was enormous, much like their clan house she realized. The gates were bigger than theirs and seemed rather strange compared to the traditional style of the Hyuuga Clan house. the difference was the atmosphere at the Hokage's residence. It was big but very inviting.

Then she saw the most beautiful garden she ever saw. Unconsciously, she had detached herself from her father's grip and made a beeline for the said garden. She remembered the time when she had tried gardening; she made a mess of herself and tried to hide herself from the eyes of her father only to find him snickering on a hallway. Apparently he saw her sneaking in and was about to berate her, when he saw her smudged face along with a cute pout.

It was ethereal, as if it wasn't meant to be in this world; that it was from the gods. Flat stones lined and made the path around the garden, so that anyone can wonder freely. Finely crafted benches were place in places that would become obstructive and directly under the tree's shades. Hundreds of flowers blooming in a very organized way, as if someone had taught them how to grow. Butterflies fluttered aound her, occasionally landing upon her outstreched hand. One even fluttered unto her nose causing her to gigle at the moment.

She was like a princess, no a goddess walking on a god's garden.

-0-

Naruto had been looking out of his window when he saw her. She was beautiful, the way her soft pale skin matched with her peach colored kimono. But he didn't think her skin was pale, it just seemed to have this sort of glow on it. The way she walked was just like a goddess, well more like a little goddess.

She was looking at the flowers that he and his mother had planted. The one his mother spent her free time caring and the same ones his watched because he often took a flower or two. He was wondering whether or not to talk to her or just stay and watch at her. She was timid from what he could gather from her movements.

"So you like her Naru-chan?" wheeling around he saw his 'nee-chan'. He hadn't heard her come in. She was smiling in a rather unnerving way and he knew that she had something in mind that he wouldn't like at all. Mischief evidently shining on her eyes.

"Naru-chan likes a girl, Naru-chan likes a girl…" Ayame sang then bolted out still singing.

"Nee-chan!!" Naruto shouted out after her.

"Naruto, dinner's ready." His mother called out as he passed her room, effectively stopping him in his tracks. "And remember, no shouting in the hallways."

Muttering a small 'Hai', Naruto left. He hadn't realized that as he chased Ayame led him to the hallway that led to one of their gardens. She was still there he noticed. Unconsciously he began to approach her.

-0-

Hinata had been gazing silently at the elegant and delicate flowers planted around her. They were grown with pure care and love, a testament of the heart of whoever planted them. They were all so beautiful, oh how she wished she had them.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" a voice said, startling her.

Whirling around, Hinata saw a young boy clad in an orange and blue kimono. His golden hair seemed like the sun always kissed it with too much passion. His deep beautiful deep blue eyes made her wonder how long she had left before she fainted under their intensity. "Ohayo," the boy said, extending a hand out towards her. "I'm Naruto."

With slightly trembling hands she took his and said, along with a slight blush staining her porcelain skin, "Hi-Hinata". The boy, Naruto smiled at her, bent down and picked a white flower with a trace of lavender on the tips of the petal.

Hinata, initially mesmerized by the beauty of the flower, was now panicking. This wasn't exactly his house wasn't it? Suddenly she noticed that his face was close to her own, too close for comfort. Strangely it felt nice. She then noticed three things. One the flower he had just picked was somehow missing. Two he was smiling as if pleased with himself. Three there was something in her hair that she was sure wasn't there before.

"It suits you." Naruto said smiling at her. She didn't know what to say but she felt happy. She didn't know when, but she knew that their friendship had just begun.

Yame-nee :Naruto's nickname for Ayame

A.N. I hope that this story's decent. -Seraphz


End file.
